5 Stocks for the Memorial Day Weekend

Stookle submits:While investors and traders take a break on this Memorial Day long weekend, consumers are expected to indulge in shopping, traveling and/or eating outside. Thus, the “consumer discretionary” industry is likely to benefit. Investors looking to profit from the expected spike in consumer spending should consider the following value stocks. These securities have been constantly losing price value within the past 90 trading days, but are now showing signs of an uptrend.[Click to enlarge]Office Depot (ODP), the Florida-based office supplies retail chain, recently announced the permanent appointment of its interim CEO, Neil Austrian. The announcement pushed the stock up by 15 cents or 3.61%. Austrian has helped make the company’s outlook better since his takeover as interim CEO. The stock closed at $4.12 on Thursday, 34.08% lower than its 52-week high of $6.25.Target (TGT), the U.S. based discount retailer, picked 105 sites for possible Canada stores. ThisComplete Story »

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Stookle submits:These securities have been constantly losing price value within the past 90 trading days but are now showing signs of an uptrend. While the S&P 500 index gained 3.95%, these securities lost in between 35.04% &12.58% during the last 90 trading days.(Click to enlarge)

Global provider of office supplies, Office Depot Inc (ODP), announced to relocate the listing of its common stock from the New York stock Exchange (NYSE) to the NASDAQ Global Select Market Composite.
Office Depot will retain its current ticker symbol "ODP," but shares will be de-listed from NYSE on September 25, and will begin to trade on the Nasdaq when the market opens the next day.

Shares of Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) and Office Depot Inc (NASDAQ:ODP) rose significantly during trading yesterday on advancement of the merger issue. The stocks showed some price adjustment in the afterhours, with shares of Staples and Office Depot falling 0.47% and 0.43%, respectively.

Starboard Value, the activist investment firm that has stakes in the office supplies companies Staples Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) and Office Depot Inc. (NASDAQ:ODP), is pushing for a merger between the two. Last month, the activist hedge fund revealed it had taken a 6.1% stake in Staples while boosting its position in Office Depot to 9.9%.

Office Depot Inc (NASDAQ:ODP) is down over 3% in midday trade after Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) downgraded the stock from a “Buy” to a “Neutral.” Goldman Sachs has, however, maintained a price target of $7.15 per share for Office Depot stock.

By Takeover Analyst:Possibly the best way to play bullishness on a quicker-than-expected recovery is to back stocks with high betas. By definition, these stocks have historically been more exaggerated on economic swings than the broader indices have. Retail surprisingly has low betas in many instances, but it nevertheless is one of the few direct beneficiaries of rising consumer expenditures.